Nine-tenths of reality

[Matthew P Wiener]

>>> My W9C dates it to 1788, and the OED2 doesn't seem to have it.

>>My Shorter OED does have it <snip>

>I like the way people talk about "My <dictionary or encyclopoedia>"
>Does this suggest that there are different versions of, say, the latest
>OED or Websters.  [...]

It does suggest there are such differences.  They in fact do occur.  Sub-
entries are especially vulnerable to a surprise heave-ho.  And at times,
the dictionary editors play deliberate games with obscure and nonword
entries, like "snark" or "dord".

I'm not sure whether or not the OED2 has "Philadelphia lawyer" as an entry.
My negative report was based on an online keyword search, and I don't trust
the search software.
--
-Matthew P Wiener (weemba at sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)    If Apple owned
 NBC, they would sue Nike for comedy-interface copyright violation.